


Breaking and Entering

by Moomo



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Homelessness, Poverty, cityscapes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-07
Updated: 2017-02-07
Packaged: 2018-09-22 14:00:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9610550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moomo/pseuds/Moomo
Summary: Velouria's hobbies give Siegbert insight into just who his girlfriend is and what made her that way.





	

“Velouria! Velouria, this is a bad idea!” Siegbert hisses at his girlfriend as he watches her scale a chain link fence. His eyes skirt around nervously before settling on the “NO TRESSPASSING! VIOLATERS WILL BE PROSECUTED!” sign attached to the fence. Siegbert can just imagine his father’s disappointment if he were here to witness this act.

 

“It’s fine Sieg, no one bothers to check up on sites when the sun is still out,” Velouria re-assures her boyfriend as she shimmies down the other side. “This” being an abandoned outdoor pool. The city needed to cut costs to meet the budget last year, and the ratty old pool had been an easy target. The place is tucked away in the old sector’s ravine, and it hardly got any use after the new recreational center was built.

 

“You don’t have to come along if you don’t want to Sieg,” Velouria offers. “Really, it’s okay. I know how you feel about breaking rules and such.”

 

Siegbert shakes his head and starts the climb. “No Velouria. I promised that I would go with you one of these days on your excursions, and I intend to see that through.”

 

The chain link digs into his hands sharply, but Siegbert manages to reach his girlfriend with no cuts or scrapes. “Okay, what do we do now?”

 

“Now we explore!” Velouria actually giggles as she skips off into the abandoned building area. Siegbert does a final quick scan for any authorities before scurrying off after Velouria into the building.

 

The decrepit place un-nerves Siegbert. The windows in the reception and payment room are cracked and have a few smashed panes in the top right corner. The sliding glass doors are completely smashed as well leaving the inside at the mercy of the elements. A fine layer of leaf litter and glass shards carpet the floor. Velouria is busy snapping photos of the place on her iPhone, a gift from Siegbert for her last birthday. (Her old phone was a flip phone. _A flip phone._ )

 

Finished with her inspection of the front, Velouria makes her way to the change rooms.

 

“Velouria! You can’t go there! That’s the men’s room!” Siegbert fusses as he trails after his girlfriend. “And last time I checked, you didn’t identify as one!”

 

Velouria choses to ignore her boyfriend in favor of flipping through the lockers. Finding nothing of interest, she makes way to the women’s change room, dragging Siegbert by the hand as he sputters about the impropriety of it all.

 

The lockers in the women’s change room appear to be about as interesting as the ones in the men’s room, but Velouria lets out a delighted gasp at the little treasure in the last locker she flips open.

 

“Velouria,” Siegbert cautions, “what did you find?”

 

Velouria spins around and presents her treasure to Siegbert before slipping it into her bag. The treasure turns out to be a hard plastic alligator, about a foot long and pretty beat up: just the sort of thing Velouria covets.

 

“It’s lovely Velouria,” Siegbert sighs. “Since you’ve found a treasure, shall we leave now?”

 

“We still have to see the pool silly!” Velouria states before running off.

 

“Slow down Velouria!” Siegbert calls out, chasing after her. “You could slip and fall!”

 

When Siegbert catches up, Velouria stands at the edge of the pool looking down. The pool has long since been drained, and it is now full of autumn leaves. Velouria whips out her phone in order to take a few pictures. Looking at the sight in front of him, all the brilliant yellows and reds and oranges, Siegbert gets an inkling of what Velouria finds so beautiful about these places of hers.

 

“I’m gonna do it,” Velouria warns Siegbert as she puts her phone away.

 

“Do wh- NO!” Siegbert realizes too late as his girlfriend cannonballs into the deep end. A volcanic explosion of leaves erupts. After the leaves settle again, Siegbert sees Velouria neck-deep in leaves.

 

“Join me!” Velouria orders.

 

“Get out of there immediately!” Siegbert counters. “What if there is a snake in there!”

 

“A snake!” Velouria chirps eagerly. “Where?! I wanna see!”

 

Resisting the urge to face palm, Siegbert squats and reaches his hand out to Velouria.

 

Velouria ignores the gesture. “Please Sieg! It’ll be fun!”

 

Siegbert looks at his girlfriend’s adorable little pout before sighing and rising. He does another quick visual scan for any authorities and finds none.

 

“CANNONBALL!” Siegbert bellows as he jumps in next to his girlfriend.

 

Velouria actually laughs out loud, a rare sound, as she watches Siegbert spit out a few leaves. “Wasn’t that fun?”

 

“Yes, that was charming in its own way I suppose,” Siegbert answers, picking a few stray leaves out of Velouria’s hair.

 

“Thank you for coming here with me today Siegbert,” Velouria hums as she nuzzles into her boyfriend’s side. “It means a lot to me.”

 

“Velouria, may I ask you question?” Siegbert ventures as he pulls her into a loose hug.

 

“You just did silly, but yes. You may ask me another question.”

 

“Why do you keep coming to these old abandoned buildings?”

 

Velouria stiffens in Siegbert’s embrace which is enough to make him panic and take back the question, but Velouria sighs and relaxes again before he can do so.

 

“You know my mommy died when I was really young right?” Velouria murmurs.

 

Siegbert nods respectfully in silence.

 

“Well, mommy was the bread winner in our family because she had a degree and daddy never finished high school. Daddy spent all his time at home taking care of me; that was his job. After mommy died, daddy had to try and make money, but he couldn’t just leave me at home.”

 

Velouria smiles and basks in the few memories of her mother that she has before continuing.

 

“We had no family to support us; it was just me and daddy, all alone. No one wanted to hire someone with no education and a toddler on their hip to boot. After all the savings were used up, and daddy couldn’t make rent; we got kicked out onto the streets.”

 

Siegbert gasps, pained and shocked, but Velouria doesn’t seemed phased at all.

 

“Daddy and I lived in crusty old buildings like this one, hopping from site to site to avoid security. We’ve lived in abandoned houses, offices, and even an old abandoned bakery once!”

 

Velouria actually smiles as she recounts this story to Siegbert, a stark contrast to Siegbert’s own growing horror.

 

“Eventually, daddy found work as janitorial staff at the zoo. And after a few lucky breaks, when the management saw how good he was with some of the animals, he got a job as a zookeeper! Now he mainly works with invertebrates and amphibians.”

 

Velouria pauses to gesture at the structures around her.

 

“These old places are really pretty; I’ve always thought that. And they’ve taken care of me and daddy through some of the hardest times of our lives, so I always like exploring them.”

 

Siegbert studies Velouria’s face mutely as she finishes her story. He wonders about the sheer strength a person has to have to be able to endure what his girlfriend did.

 

On that thought, Siegbert reflects on his own life: two living parents who adore him, living in a grand mansion, a university level education all paid for by his parents, never having to wonder where his next meal will come from, always having a roof over his head, and having a credit card in his pocket linked to his parents’ accounts. While Siegbert was never one to squander money or spend needlessly, he had always had the means to do so should he have chosen to. The injustice of the situation weighs heavily on Siegbert. Tears welling in the Siegbert’s eyes, he pulls Velouria in to his arms tightly.

 

“Hey Sieg,” Velouria soothes at the sight of her boyfriend’s tears, “what’s wrong?”

 

Siegbert just shakes his head; he doesn’t trust his voice not to break if he speaks. Instead, Siegbert thinks of his “friends” from University, the ones with forced smiles and poorly veiled disdain when he mentions that his girlfriend is going to a technical institute with the goal of being a butcher. He thinks of Velouria working near full time hours to be able to cover her tuition. Siegbert guiltily thinks of times he had visited Velouria and Keaton’s apartment and thought it quaint and small.  

 

Siegbert presses a kiss onto the crown of his girlfriend’s head.

 

“I’m sorry,” he croaks.

 

Velouria wriggles around, pushing Siegbert away so she can face him. “Don’t be sorry. Because I’m not.”

 

Velouria leans in to kiss the tears now freely streaming down Siegbert’s face.

 

“I don’t want your pity Siegbert.”

 

“It’s not pit-”

 

“Whatever it is, daddy and I are fine now. So you don’t have to feel bad for us.”

 

Before Siegbert can get another word in, Velouria unlatches herself from around him and begins swimming through the leaves to the exit.

 

“We should get going! The sun is going down, and I think a few leaves have worked their way into my undies!”

 

Siegbert’s face flames. Noticing the blush, Velouria grins wolfishly. “Wanna help me get them out?”

 

“Velouria!”

**Author's Note:**

> Many years ago, when I was in high school, my school was situated along the city's river valley. There was an old abandoned pool in the valley that my classmates broke into sometimes. They were respectful though (as respectful as trespassers could be at any rate) and only took pictures, never broke or spray painted anything. The security company looped barbed wire around the fence, and I tried climbing the fence once. I cut my hand up, but not too badly. I never made the climb again, so I never got to see what the inside looked like.
> 
> Late last year, the city finally bulldozed the place and filled in the pool with dirt. To this day I wonder what the inside looked like before it was torn down.


End file.
